Ruling party lawmaker Gurung has to appear before Kathmandu District Court within 35 days of the serving of summons: Ananda Shrestha, Registrar, Kathmandu District Court

Dolakha/Kathmandu, Oct 16

Police have served a summons to Nepal Communist Party (NCP) lawmaker Parvat Gurung in an attempt to murder case filed against him.

Birdhoj Khadka, a former Maoist cadre, had filed a first information report against him, accusing Gurung of attempting to kill him in Kathmandu two years ago during local election campaign.

Dolakha District Police Office served the summons to Gurung on September 25 through Area Police Office, Singati, after Kathmandu District Court issued an arrest warrant against the lawmaker.  Police handed over the summons to Chairman of Gauri Shankar Rural Municipality where Gurung is a permanent resident.

During the local election campaign two years ago, Kul Bahadur Tamang, a cadre of erstwhile CPN-UML, was killed during a clash between the cadres of the erstwhile UML and CPN-Maoist Centre. A murder case was then filed against 40 local leaders and cadres, including UML leader Devi Khadka and CPN-MC leader Ganga Karki.

Birdhoj Khadka, who was one of the accused in the murder case, was brutally beaten up allegedly by UML cadres in Gaushala, Kathmandu, following which Khadka filed an FIR accusing Gurung of masterminding the attack on him.

Lawmaker Gurung told THT that it was a political case and he would appear before the court to contest it.

Gurung said Khadka was beaten up by family members of Kul Bahadur Tamang, who was killed during local election campaign, and claimed that he was not in Kathmandu the day Khadka was attacked. “I was in Dang that day. That’s why police refused to register an FIR against me. But later, Khadka was incited by some powerful people and filed a case against me when a coalition government of erstwhile CPN-MC and the Nepali Congress was formed,” Gurung said.

Registrar of Kathmandu District Court Ananda Shrestha said an arrest warrant was issued against a Dolakha resident Parvat Gurung but he could not confirm if he was the NCP lawmaker.  “We had issued an arrest warrant and police should have arrested him. A summons is pasted at the house of a defendant in a criminal case when police cannot find the defendant,” said Shrestha.

He said Gurung had to appear before Kathmandu District Court within 35 days of the serving of summons.

If convicted, Gurung will face a jail term up to 10 years.